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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415166">This Mechanical Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool/pseuds/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool'>Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>5 Seconds of Summer (Band), All Time Low (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M, Robots, Steampunk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:47:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool/pseuds/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>' “Do you think he’ll be able to fix Luke?”</p><p>“Of course,” Calum responded without hesitation, “Ashton’s learnt from the best. He’s a little genius when he puts his mind to it. But what’s really wrong Michael? I know you’re worried about Luke, but that’s clearly not all that’s bothering you.”</p><p>The hand that had been tracing simple patterns over Calum’s sternum stilled, the only noise in the room was the gentle clicks and whirs from the automatons’ mechanisms.</p><p>“I don’t want to lose you Cal,” Michael eventually admitted, curling his fingers in Calum’s light cotton shirt. '</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Barakat/Alex Gaskarth, Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Mechanical Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/gifts">Branithar</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay, the concept for this fic was brought up by Cy, who made some absolutely awesome art, and I just had to write something bc I love him.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Michael tugged his hood up, wrapping his scarf around his lower face, before he strode up the creaking steps to the upper deck of the ship. The joint of his right knee made a clicking noise as he walked, and he could no longer adjust his eyes to see things far away. Still, if he squinted a little like the children nearby were doing, he could see the shoreline gradually coming into view.<br/><br/>He looked around those that had gathered to watch the ships approach to the shore, and saw a small, dark haired boy eyeing him curiously. He tilted his head in question, although it strained the slightly rusted wires in his neck, the damage having been worsened by the sea air. But the voyage had been necessary.<br/><br/>The little boy gasped at something, although he was still staring at Michael, and Michael couldn’t work out what had affected the boy, until he tugged on his mother’s skirts.<br/><br/>“Mama! Mama! That man’s a robot! Mama!”<br/><br/>If he were human, he would have held his breathe in fear, but instead he just focused on the regular ticking of his heartbeat module.<br/><br/>His fear was for nothing, however, as the boy’s mother simply said, “Yes honey,” And then picked up the squirming child, distracting him with mention of the coast approaching.<br/><br/>Michael turned away, finding a more secluded area of the ship to adjust his clothes. His gloves were slipping a little, and his scarf had begun to fall, so he fixed everything, making sure no metal was showing.<br/><br/>Soon enough, the boat had docked, and Michael followed the crowd as they made their way to loved ones, and Michael ducked into a back ally.<br/><br/>He followed the path, walking from memory, until he was further into the city, forever grateful for the fact that he didn’t require oxygen, as the air here was thick with smog, and he could see many humans huddled in doorways, looking sick and grey.<br/><br/>Eventually he arrived where he needed to be.<br/><br/>A red door stood before him, a tarnished bronze knocker depicting trees and birds in the centre. Michael lifted the knocker and let it drop, only once.<br/><br/>Within minutes, the door was opened by a boy. He had blonde hair, a tall stature, and was dressed well enough to indicate his status.<br/><br/>“Who are you?” The boy asked, frowning.<br/><br/>Michael didn’t acknowledge his disposition, “Is this the Hemmings residence?”<br/><br/>The boy nodded.<br/><br/>“I have been sent by Mr Clifford.”<br/><br/>“I was under the impression that old Clifford had gone insane,” the boy laughed, “But I suppose this is about the Creation. Would you like to come in?”<br/><br/>Michael nodded, praying the boy didn’t hear the slight creak.<br/><br/>“Oh how careless of me,” the boy lead him inside, shutting the door behind them, “My name is Ben.”<br/><br/>“The eldest of the three Hemmings boys, yes?”<br/><br/>Ben winced, “Two. Two Hemmings boys.”<br/><br/>“What about the youngest?” Michael asked. He already knew the answer, but he was curious to know what excuse the family had come up with.<br/><br/>“If you were sent by Mr Clifford then you are probably aware,” Ben said, leading Michael up the staircase, “But the youngest, he was never human. Father went against God, he created this- this machine, and he somehow breathed life into it and made this abomination.”<br/><br/>“And what happened to this... Machine?” Michael asked, adjusting his scarf.<br/><br/>Ben seemed hesitant to respond, “It was worthless. It could not work, it could not behave as human. It was wonderful, in principal, but it was accursed. So he switched it off, left it in the attic.”<br/><br/>Michael felt himself frown, the movement stiff, “But how could he turn off something that was partially alive?”<br/><br/>“He realised his mistake. He just hoped it would die in the time it was left.”<br/><br/>Ben tugged a string, and all the candles arranged across the roof beams sparked alight.<br/><br/>With this added light, Michael could take in the room.<br/><br/>Hanging from the beams were various mechanical devises, a tiny robot sorting papers, a train track carting scraps of metal around. Across the floor lay a number of scattered objects, sheets of metal, cogs, spokes, wiring, and all manner of bulkier devices that Michael couldn’t begin to imagine a use for.<br/><br/>Ben led the way across the room, kicking items out of the way, until the pair reached the corner.<br/><br/>In the corner lay a figure, and the sight made one of the cogs in Michael’s chest slip a turn. He told himself it was just a coincidence.<br/><br/>“Do you want it powered or not? How are you transporting it?”<br/><br/>Michael knelt down beside the robot, brushing away the thick layer of dust that had settled over the rusted metal of its skin. It was missing the casing around one of its eyes, but the remaining one was blue. Thin golden strands of synthetic hair adorned its head, adding to the clear attempt of making it appear human.<br/><br/>“Can you power it? And possibly fetch a cloak? If it can walk then it would be much easier to transport.”<br/><br/>Ben nodded, lifting the machine so it was in a sitting position, and showing Michael how to power it.<br/><br/>“I’ll go fetch that cloak while its systems kick in,” Ben said, leaving the room.<br/><br/>Michael sat down opposite the robot, listening to the sounds of the different modules starting. He assumed the other’s design was similar to his own.<br/><br/>Soon, the other robot’s eyes flickered to light, a soft blue. Michael watched the lenses in his eye struggle to focus, whirring and twisting, until eventually his gaze settled on Michael.<br/><br/>The robot’s mouth opened, voice box rattling for a moment before he said, “Who are you?”<br/><br/>His voice was audibly rusty, and just from watching his start-up Michael had pinpointed several other parts that would need fixing.<br/><br/>“My name is Michael. What about you?”<br/><br/>The robot boy started at him blankly, and Michael heard something clicking.<br/><br/>“Father didn’t give me a name.”<br/><br/>Michael frowned, “Did he register your existence with a code?”<br/><br/>“LU5853H4. What is your code?”<br/><br/>“MI6424235C2,” Michael recited, before saying, “Your name is Luke.”<br/><br/>Luke’s eyes brightened, although the one without the casing flickered a little, “Yes! That is what Jack called me! Luke. I like it.”<br/><br/>Michael found himself smiling, his own rusted skin creaking a little, and Luke seemed to hear it.<br/><br/>“Your skin...” He mumbled, taking Michael’s hand and pulling his glove down to expose his arm, “Your skin...” Luke looked up at him, cogs whirring as his lips slowly parted in a smile, “You are like me.”<br/><br/>Michael drew his hand back, but nodded, “Yes, I am like you. But it is a secret okay?”<br/><br/>Before Luke could respond, Ben returned to the room, holding a bundle of- clearly old- clothes. He made his way over, eyeing Luke warily.<br/><br/>“I found more than a cloak, so that you can cover all of its metal parts. I don’t know what Mr Clifford wants with it, but I assume he wants it all in one piece, so you don’t want anyone trying to destroy it.”<br/><br/>Michael nodded, “Yes, he wants it in one piece,” Michael responded sharply, standing up and brushing the dust from his trousers.<br/><br/>While Ben was distracted assisting Luke in getting dressed, Michael made sure every metal part of himself was hidden.<br/><br/>Ben pulled Luke to his feet, and the blonde boy came to stand beside Michael, his joints stiff.<br/><br/>“Is that all you needed?” Ben asked, leading the pair back downstairs.<br/><br/>Michael helped Luke down the steps, ignoring to confusion written across his features.<br/><br/>“Yes, that will be all. Thank you.”<br/><br/>As they stood in the doorway, Ben asked one final question.<br/><br/>“It escaped my mind earlier, but, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your relation to Mr Clifford?”<br/><br/>Michael smiled a little, but it was hidden by his scarf, “I am his son.”<br/><br/>And before Ben could express his confusion, Michael bade him farewell, and led Luke out the door, the pair disappearing into the smog.<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>A knock on the door startled Ashton from where he had his hands in Calum’s chest, trying to fix whatever module Calum had broken this time.<br/><br/>“Oh for-” Ashton tugged his hands free of the cogs and wires, oil staining his own metal up to his elbows.<br/><br/>Calum sat up, grinning easily, “I’ll go get it. You clean up.”<br/><br/>“But I haven’t finished-”<br/><br/>Calum tried to wave him off, but was unable to lift his left arm, “It’s fine Ash,” He said unconvincingly, “You go clean up.”<br/><br/>Ashton stared at him for a moment, before deciding that, whatever, Calum had clearly made up his mind. So he let Calum answer the door and found a cloth to clean the oil off of his hands.<br/><br/>He was startled once again by an excited yell, which he recognised as Calum, and the sound of someone else talking to him.<br/><br/>Ashton made his way into the main room of his and Calum’s house.<br/><br/>House was a loose term, as it was more of an abandoned workshop, but it was where Calum and Ashton resided, and they resided there in secret, only a very small number of people knowing their location. Which meant based on Calum’s reaction, the person who had just walked through the door was someone they knew but hadn’t seen in a while.<br/><br/>His suspicions were proved correct when he returned into the room, to find Calum’s copper hands clamped on the shoulders of someone in a thick black cloak, which did well to hide the stains from the oil that was steadily dribbling out of Calum’s chest.<br/><br/>The cloak was removed, hung on the hook, and the person beneath lifted his head in Ashton’s direction.<br/><br/>“Ashton! Good to see you again! I do hope you were in the process of fixing this hunk of junk,” he smacked Calum’s chest for emphasis, “And not just letting him wander around like this.”<br/><br/>Ashton grinned, “Michael, good god, it’s been so long!” He hurried over, embracing Michael.<br/><br/>It was then that he noticed another person in the room, dressed in tattered clothes in a manner similar to Michael, a manner that hid the majority of their body.<br/><br/>“How rude of me!” Michael stepped away, taking the person’s cloak to reveal another robot, even more tattered than Michael. “Ashton, Calum, this is Luke.”<br/><br/>Calum spoke up, “The Hemmings boy?”<br/><br/>Michael nodded, “It seems Mr Hemmings no longer wanted to deal with the son he had created, and was unaware of the consciousness that comes to creatures like us.”<br/><br/>Ashton noticed that Michael looked angry, although he was clearly holding back, perhaps for Luke’s benefit.<br/><br/>Instead of commenting, Ashton turned his eyes to Luke, the poor boy in terrible shape, pieces of metal rusted and missing.<br/><br/>“Do you want me to fix him up?”<br/><br/>Michael smiled, “Well, that is your area of expertise, Mr Inventor-man.”<br/><br/>Ashton scoffed, “It’s only my area of expertise because this idiot can’t stay together for more than five hours.”<br/><br/>“Speaking of Calum,” Michael turned to the boy in question, “What did you do this time?”<br/><br/>Calum’s lower lip jutted out, petulant, and some lights flickered within him, visible between the dangling wires, “I did nothing! Things just break.”<br/><br/>“Oh sure. Well, Ashton, I think you should fix him up first. Luke can wait, he’s in no imminent danger of exploding. Or... making a mess,” He gestured to the black trail that followed Calum as he walked, and Ashton smiled a little, shoving Calum into the old dentist’s chair that they used when repairs needed to be done.<br/><br/>Ashton got to work on Calum, soon fixing his oil leak and reconnecting the spokes and cogs to the module that, apparently, controlled his left arm. He then did a quick check over everything else, although he knew that, no matter what he did, something would break in the next few hours.<br/><br/>“Alright Cal, you’re done for now. Go catch up with Michael.”<br/><br/>Calum scrambled out of the chair, launching himself at Michael and demanding to know about his travels. At Michael’s gentle insistence, Luke took his place in the chair, looking confused and curious.<br/><br/>“Michael said I can trust you because he has known you for a long time. Is that true?”<br/><br/>Ashton smiled reassuringly, although internally he was already thinking about how to fix Luke’s voice box, and whether he had a spare eye casing lying around that would fit him.<br/><br/>“I’ve known Michael for a very long time, I always fix him up when his mechanisms start acting up. I’ll try and do my best to fix you up too, but it looks like it might take a bit of work. Do you mind if I take your voice box out? It sounds slightly damaged, but it might just need cleaning.”<br/><br/>Luke nodded, lying perfectly still and letting Ashton begin his work.<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>“So what happened?” Calum asked, leading Michael upstairs to leave Ashton in peace.<br/><br/>Michael rocked on his heels, “What do you mean?”<br/><br/>Calum pulled his ruined shirt off, searching for a cleaner one, “Don’t pull that. You’re angry. It’s impressive,” Calum turned back to face him, raising an imploring eyebrow.<br/><br/>“You should have seen it Cal,” Michael gave in easily, “The eldest son answered the door, led me upstairs, up more stairs, into the attic. The attic looked like Ashton’s workshop, full of junk and scraps and <em>Luke</em>, he was just there in the corner. The inventor had cut his power, left him there to <em>die</em>-”<br/><br/>Calum reached out and took Michael’s hand and the other made a wounded noise. They could barely feel the contact, but the slight pressure was enough to provide comfort. He tugged gently, pulling Michael onto the disused bed. The pair wriggled around until they were curled closer together, Michael half on top of Calum, hand running gently over his chest.<br/><br/>“Ashton fixed me good, I swear,” Calum murmured, after a stretch of silence.<br/><br/>Michael made a noise of acknowledgment, “Do you think he’ll be able to fix Luke?”<br/><br/>“Of course,” Calum responded without hesitation, “Ashton’s learnt from the best. He’s a little genius when he puts his mind to it. But what’s really wrong Michael? I know you’re worried about Luke, but that’s clearly not all that’s bothering you.”<br/><br/>The hand that had been tracing simple patterns over Calum’s sternum stilled, the only noise in the room was the gentle clicks and whirs from the automatons’ mechanisms.<br/><br/>“I don’t want to lose you Cal,” Michael eventually admitted, curling his fingers in Calum’s light cotton shirt.<br/><br/>Calum tenderly kissed the top of his head, thin strands of brass scratchy against his face, “I’m not going anywhere,” He said softly, a vow.<br/><br/>“But you are!” Michael cried out, causing Calum to startle. He shouldn’t have been surprised, Michael always had been the most emotional volatile out of them all, some combination of his design and his upbringing. “You’re falling apart! You said Ashton could fix you before I went away but he clearly didn’t because as soon as I get  back you’ve fallen apart again and I bet this has happened much more in my absence and-”<br/><br/>Calum cut him off by leaning down and pressing a kiss to his lips, and Michael’s worried words died in his mouth. “I’m okay, I promise,” Calum spoke, barely pulling away. “We’re working on it, even if Ashton has to build an entirely new body for me. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>“What’s wrong with Calum?” Luke asked, once Ashton had replaced his voice box and started checking over his internal modules.<br/><br/>Ashton hummed, “What do you mean?”<br/><br/>“He was broken and you fixed him but Michael still looked...”<br/><br/>“Upset?” Ashton offered, blowing away some dust and oiling a few cogs. Luke nodded.<br/><br/>“Yes, upset. Is Calum in danger?”<br/><br/>Ashton debated this, before looking up at Luke, “Calum is... complicated. It’s sort of a long story.”<br/><br/>Luke gestured to himself, laid almost flat in the chair with his chest open, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, am I?” And Ashton laughed.<br/><br/>“No, I suppose you’re not,” Ashton got up and gathered the materials he needed so that he didn’t have to interrupt himself to find anything. “Alright. Calum’s inventor hadn’t built many automatons before, not even birds, which tend to be everyone’s starting point. He thought he was a genius, the smartest man of the steam age, but he wasn’t really. His designs for Calum were shoddy at best, downright impossible at worst. He did a bare minimum of research on the materials he needed to used and just made things up as he went along. He had a basis in mechanics, but no knowledge of alchemy or science to back himself up, and he ended up using a mix of metals that interacted strangely with each other, particularly after being exposed to the outside world. Even Calum’s hair- so mine’s copper, Michael’s is brass, yours looks to be brass too. He used hematite, that’s a type of iron but it’s brittle, so it’s held in resin. Don’t get me started on his internal modules, they’re all connected strangely, and half of the cogs and such are peculiar size, as if the inventor cast them himself to be special, except it means every time I fix him it creates more issues, because I don’t have anything the right size.”<br/><br/>When Ashton trailed off and stood up, Luke instantly looked to him, “That sounds... scary. What if one day something breaks and you can’t fix it?”<br/><br/>“Hold still,” Ashton murmured, appearing above Luke’s face with a weird shaped piece of metal in one hand and a soldering iron in the other, “I try my best to fix him with what we’ve got. Sometimes I have to go out and buy specific new parts. Sometimes I have to take out and rebuild entire modules. It is scary, but I love him. Though sometimes I get scared that I won’t be able to do anything, and he’ll be broken forever.”<br/><br/>Luke went to speak, but Ashton shushed him, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, “Still. I don’t wanna put this in the wrong place.”<br/><br/>After a few tense moments, Ashton moved away, “Alright, I think that should be everything. It’s not the same color as the rest of your plating, but it’s the only one I had.”<br/><br/>Luke moved his hand, touching at the new part on his face in wonder before looking back to Ashton.<br/><br/>“Do you want a mirror?” Ashton asked, a fond smile playing on his lips, and Luke nodded.<br/> <br/>Ashton held up a shiny piece of metal, and Luke’s eyes (both eyes!) widened in surprise. Ashton had given him a brand new eye casing, and managed to clean some of the rust off his face. Before he had time to process what he was doing, he had flung himself at Ashton, much in the same manner Calum had greeted Michael, wrapping his arms around him and chanting, “thank you thank you thank you!”<br/><br/>Ashton laughed kindly, patting Luke’s back and gently prying him off, “Wanna see the secret project I’ve been working on, since Cal and Mikey are distracted?”<br/><br/>Luke’s eyes lit up, “Oh, yes please!”<br/><br/>Grinning, Ashton helped Luke out the chair, supporting the other as he wobbled, his balance module taking some time to kick in and Luke too impatient to wait for it.<br/><br/>“It’s a gift for Calum. I was planning on giving it to him soon, and I think it’s pretty much done,” Ashton tugged a curtain to one side, leading Luke into a backroom of the workshop. He closed the curtain behind them, before walking over to something in the centre of the room, laid on an operating table, covered by an oil stained sheet.<br/><br/>He removed the sheet carefully, revealing to Luke a body.<br/><br/>Luke stepped closer to inspect it, handing hovering above the so familiar metal work, although he didn’t dare touch.<br/><br/>“You made this?” He asked, turning back to Ashton, whose posture looked almost bashful.<br/><br/>He nodded, “Yeah. It’s taken about two years, but yeah. I know I won’t be able to keep fixing Calum forever, but we’d be heartbroken to just... watch him fall apart, so...”<br/><br/>“You made him a new body.”<br/><br/>“I did.”<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>Luke and Calum were sat together in the main area of the workshop, Calum teaching Luke how to play card games. A couple of weeks had passed since Luke had joined them, and he was settling in well, adjusting easily to life with the other three automatons, even picking up some of their more human mannerisms.<br/><br/>It was raining outside, a heavy drizzle that left the sky gray and gloomy, blocking out what little sun the city got. It also meant the robot boys couldn’t go outside for too long, especially not Calum and Luke, as the rain would seep into their framework and cause all manner of issues. And besides, Calum was still adjusting after Ashton had to replace his entire lower leg a few days ago.<br/><br/>Michael and Ashton had retreated to one of the backrooms to do some important work, so Calum and Luke were left to entertain themselves.<br/><br/>Luke was just beginning to understand the rules of blackjack when there was a knock on the door.<br/><br/>Calum sighed, placing the cards down.<br/><br/>“Help me up,” He said, and Luke dutifully scurried to his side and helped him into a standing position.<br/><br/>Together they went to the door, Luke constantly worried that Calum would fall, Calum more curious about who could be at the door.<br/><br/>The door was opened, and there stood two men. Both wore top hats and thick cloaks in an attempt to keep the rain off. They were both fairly tall, compared to the average person, but compared to Luke and Calum they were similar heights.<br/><br/>The shorter of the pair seemed to have been the one who had knocked, as he had yet to tuck his hand back inside his cloak.<br/><br/>“Is this the workshop of Ashton Irwin?” The shorter asked, worrying his lower lip between his teeth anxiously. “We’re in need of some help.”<br/><br/>Calum nudged Luke to help him step back, allowing the pair to enter. “Yes, this is his workshop. Who are you?” Calum asked.<br/><br/>“My name’s Alexander Gaskarth, but call me Alex. This is my... companion, Mr Jack Barakat,” Alex removed his hat, sheepishly tipping water out of the brim onto the dusty floor. Luke helped Calum sit back down before pottering about, taking the pair’s hats and cloaks to hang up.<br/><br/>Jack, who had yet to speak, watched Luke intently with his dark eyes. Eventually, he said, “Is that the youngest Hemmings? I thought Andrew had tossed him when he realised what he’d done.”<br/><br/>Luke froze in place, but Calum simply smiled, “Gentleman, please sit down, it would make us all equals. Yes, this is Luke Hemmings. He was in a state of disrepair when our good friend Michael rescued him, and the wonderful Mr Irwin, whom you have clearly heard an awful lot about, patched him up and restored him to full health.”<br/><br/>Alex tugged on Jack’s arm gently, imploring him to sit down, “Excuse my companion, he is miserable and irritating, but he means no harm. But who are you in relation to Irwin?”<br/><br/>“I am a friend, and an example of his best work,” Calum placed his hand upon the table, demonstrating the patchwork quilt of different metals, and the way his arms had been painted to mark different reoccurring problems.<br/><br/>“My name is Calum Hood.”<br/><br/>He heard Jack suck in a surprised breath, “So you’re the infamous creation of old Mr Hood. Interesting.”<br/><br/>“Do you want me to go get Ashton?” Luke spoke up from where he was awkwardly stood to the side, and Alex seemed to take pity on him.<br/><br/>“Yes please, if you wouldn’t mind,” Alex said smoothly, and Luke rushed off with the manner of someone who was blushing, despite having no blood with which to blush with.<br/><br/>Calum shook his head fondly at the blonde’s retreat, before turning back to the visitors, “What is it you need Ash’s help with? You both look completely human.”<br/><br/>“Let’s wait for him to get back, I’ll tell all of you.”<br/><br/>It was only a short wait before Luke returned, trailed by Ashton and Michael. Ashton took the final seat at the table, sitting opposite Jack and next to Alex. Luke happily sat on the floor, leaning his head against Ashton’s thigh, content to not be a part of the conversation as he didn’t know much anyway. Michael placed himself in Calum’s lap, ignoring the grumbles from the latter.<br/><br/>“So, what can we help you with?” Ashton asked, question directed at Alex although he was eying Jack.<br/><br/>Alex smiled, holding out his hands to Jack, who removed his gloves for him. One hand was normal, and took the gloves from Jack, but where the other hand should have been, there was nothing. A pale forearm that ended in a stump, sealed with a jagged scar.<br/><br/>“I know this may be outside of your field, but so many people these days are frightened to mix man  and machine, scared of creating something <em>inhuman</em>,” Calum noticed Jack tense as Alex spoke, and he wondered how many people they had approached before coming to Ashton. Alex cleared his throat before continuing, “So when I heard about you guys, I thought you might be able to help...”<br/><br/>Ashton nodded along, “So, you want a new hand?”<br/><br/>Alex nodded.<br/><br/>“Placeholder or functioning?” Ashton asked, and Calum heard the motor in his brain fire up, making it clear that he was already scheming.<br/><br/>“Wait-” Alex looked shocked, “You can make it functioning?”<br/><br/>Ashton smiled sheepishly, and Michael spoke up, “Of course he can, the man’s a damn genius.”<br/><br/>Alex laughed, “So you’ll help?”<br/><br/>“Of course!”<br/><br/>And discarding all pretences of order, Alex quickly darted forward, wrapping his arms around Ashton in an excited hug, mumbling, “Thank you so much!” While Jack watched with a fond smile.<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>Ashton, Michael, and Alex disappeared into the back room soon after that, leaving Calum and Luke with Jack.<br/><br/>“Do you wanna join our game?” Luke asked, picking the cards back up, and Calum rolled his eyes with a smile.<br/><br/>“Luke you can’t invite him to play a game that you still don’t know how to play,” Calum said, and this managed to coax a short laugh out of Jack.<br/><br/>Luke scowled, an expression he must have picked up from Michael, “I’m just trying to be polite...”<br/><br/>Jack hummed softly, “Actually, if you don’t mind, could I ask some questions?”<br/><br/>“Of course,” Calum responded.<br/><br/>“What’s it like, being conscious but not human?”<br/><br/>“Well, it’s not like we know what it’s like to be human,” Luke started, “And I haven’t been awake for very long, so I haven’t really experienced much...”<br/><br/>Calum squeezed Luke’s hand, “It’s sorta like... Living a normal life but you can’t go out in the rain and can’t really feel minor pain. And a lot of people will try to destroy you if they see you out in public. Michael’s the one who has to deal with that the most, he likes to go outside. I can’t, just in case something breaks, Luke gets lost whenever we let him out alone, and Ashton would just rather not.”<br/><br/>Jack nodded, “I’ve heard much of both of you, and some of Ashton. But I haven’t heard much of this Michael.”<br/><br/>“I’ve known Michael for the longest,” Calum started, leaning back a little, “We were sort of... Childhood friends, despite not ever being children. His father, inventor, whatever, took me in when my father decided that his creation was not up to standard, and Clifford tried his best, bless him, but my old man did such a naff job that there wasn’t a lot he could do. He taught me and Michael how to pass as human, but Michael was always the best at it. Michael travelled a lot. We ended up spending a lot of time apart, but he would always write letters of his travels, and he would always come home to me.”<br/><br/>Jack smiled, “That’s real sweet. You guys are so adorable, I’ve known you for like, ten minutes tops and the four of you are all so cute together.”<br/><br/>Calum laughed softly, “Yeah, I guess. What about you and Alex, what’s your story?”<br/><br/>“We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. We got sent to work in The Factory together, cuz his dad’s a convict and I have no family here. We bonded over our mutual hatred for the system and everyone in control. We had some other friends, Zack and Rian, who helped make working there bearable. Zack was one of the patrol guards, meant to keep any wrong doers in line, and Rian was the overseer of our sector. Alex lost his hand in an accident, I tried to help him and ended up damaging myself too. Rian stopped the machines and Zack helped us out, both of them got fired and arrested, but they escaped.”<br/><br/>Luke was enthralled by the story, nearly falling off his chair until Calum grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back.<br/><br/>Calum hummed curiously, “And what did the accident do to you?”<br/><br/>Jack grinned, “Alex isn’t the first guy to be part human part metal. Although mine is a bit more ingrained than just a limb.”<br/><br/>He moved his hair from his face, revealing a very realistic metal eye. Undoing the top two buttons of his shirt revealed metal plating on his chest and shoulder.<br/><br/>“I’ve got a good hunk of metal in me. I’m hoping your boy can give me a check up once he’s finished with Alex."<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>Jack and Alex stayed for a couple of days, enough for Ashton to give Alex a new arm and to check on Jack’s workings. They left an address to write to, or to visit if they wanted to, and then they were gone.<br/><br/>Ashton disappeared into the depths of his workshop once more, sometimes taking Michael, or even Luke with him, and Calum was beginning to get a little jealous.<br/><br/>A week later, Calum was sprawled out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Ashton had kidnapped Michael and Luke again, and none of them would tell him what they were doing.<br/><br/>He stared at the ceiling, allowing his mind to drift slightly, until his was startled by the door opening. He didn’t bother sitting up, and was rewarding by someone crawling up his body and sitting on his thighs. Then Luke’s face appeared, a few inches above his own.<br/><br/>“Hi,” Luke was beaming, looking excited.<br/><br/>“Hi?” Calum responded, more than a little confused. “What have you guys been doing all day?” He added, definitely not pouting.<br/><br/>Luke giggled, “Aw, are you jealous that we’re not including you? I’m sorry,” He leant down, bumping their lips together.<br/><br/>Calum didn’t know who he’d learnt that from, but he liked it.<br/><br/>“I’m not jealous, I just miss you, is all.”<br/><br/>“Sure, sure,” Luke sat up, and Calum sort of missed the closeness, which was dumb since Luke was still sat on him.<br/><br/>“Well, if you come downstairs we’ll show you what we’ve been doing.”<br/><br/>Unable to stop his curiosity, Calum allowed Luke to lead him downstairs and into the back room. Michael and Ashton were stood beside the work bench, which was covered by a sheet. The shape beneath it looked like a dead body, which made Calum even more confused, but then Michael grinned and pulled the sheet back, yelling, “Surprise!”<br/><br/>It took a few moments for Calum to register what he was looking at. It looked like himself, but slightly different. More concise, less patchwork.<br/><br/>“I- what?”<br/><br/>Ashton stepped forwards, taking Calum’s hand almost sheepishly.<br/><br/>“I- <em>We</em> couldn’t bear to watch you fall apart. We love you so much Cal, we’d be lost without you. So I built you a new body, one where everything’s uniform so fixing it won’t break something new. If we power you down, I can transfer your central module, that’s all that needs to happen. It might take you a few days to adjust but-”<br/><br/>Ashton’s rambling was cut off by Calum pulling him into a tight hug, pressing his face to his shoulder. Calum was laughing, a little overwhelmed.<br/><br/>“Oh my god- you guys- fuck- c’mere-” Calum reached out blindly, pulling Luke and Michael into the hug.<br/><br/>“I love you too. I love you guys so much.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic has been my baby for a long time.</p><p>If you want more content from me, check out the robotsos tag on my tumblr =&gt; [ https://mastasof-ravenkroft.tumblr.com/search/robotsos ]</p><p>I can't for the life of me find the finished version of Cy's drawing but I'm sure he'll tell me once he reads this.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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